While the debate has raged over whether Barrett, Dan Carter, or Aaron Cruden should wear the No 10 for the final test of the year, the All Blacks coaches knew all along.

Coach Steve Hansen said the plan for the tour had been to give all three of the squad's three specialist five-eighth's an opportunity to show their wares starting in a big Test with Barrett the only one yet to get that chance.

"We've seen Crudes on this tour against one of the big teams in England and we wanted to see Beauden in one as well, so clearly the Welsh game was the one he'd be picked for," Hansen said today.

"We are using this tour to find out more about the guys we've got and previously we've shown when we pick Beauden it's difficult to pick Crudes on the bench because we don't think he has enough versatility."

That's good news for Colin Slade, whose ability to cover 10, 14 and 15 means he gets a spot in the reserves, but bad news for Carter, who will end the season in the stands after the selectors decided he would be better served starting afresh in Super Rugby next year.

Barrett's only other game time on tour was a 21 minute cameo against England, but his seventh Test start, and fifth this year, further hints at the 23-year-old's rising stocks a year out from the World Cup.

The other major talking point is the retention of Ben Smith at fullback ahead of Israel Dagg, and a second straight start for Charles Piutau on the right wing.

Piutau had forced the selector's hand with a stand out display during the 24-16 win over Scotland at Murrayfield last week.

"Charlie last year took the international stage by storm, then injured himself and took a long time to come back, and in fact took a while once he did come back to find his confidence," Hansen said.

"But on this tour he's got better and better and after the Scotland game we thought, 'ok, lets see what he's like against the big boys'."

Once Piutau had been selected, Hansen said Smith's selection at fullback was an easy one.

"Bender has to be in the team somewhere . He's playing that good you can't leave him out, so unfortunately that meant Izzy had to miss out."

Ben Smith, Piutau, and McCaw, who will captain the side for the 100th time in a test, are the only three survivors from the side that started against Scotland.

Centre Conrad Smith returns at centre outside Sonny Bill Williams to form a midfield combination that's been through plenty of off field drama since they played together at Twickenham.

Smith returned to New Zealand for personal reasons and skipped the week in Edinburgh before rejoining the squad this week, while Williams is still celebrating the arrival of his first child on Wednesday.

The tight five is predictable, but there are several surprises in the reserves where prop Joe Moody gets the nod ahead of Ben Franks, lock Patrick Tuipulotu bumps in-form Jeremy Thrush out of the squad, and Ryan Crotty edges Malakai Fekitoa as the midfield cover.

"Jeremy has got better and better all year, but I think Patrick is going to be something special," Hansen said. "We are just starting to see signs of it. What he did when he came on against England was very, very good. He's a genuine athlete and that's probably what heads Jeremy off."

Moody had come a long way on the tour in terms of his fitness and conditioning and the selectors were keen to see how he stacked up in a major test.

And Fekitoa was a young player at the end of a big year, who would benefit from sitting back and reflecting, then hitting next season better than ever.

TEAMS

All Blacks: Ben Smith, Charles Piutau, Conrad Smith, Sonny Bill Williams, Julian Savea, Beauden Barrett, Aaron Smith, Kieran Read, Richie McCaw (c), Jerome Kaino, Sam Whitelock, Brodie Retallick, Owen Franks, Dane Coles, Wyatt Crockett. Reserves: Keven Mealamu, Joe Moody, Charlie Faumuina, Patrick Tuipulotu, Liam Messam, TJ Perenara, Colin Slade, Ryan Crotty.

Wales: Leigh Halfpenny, Alex Cuthbert, Jonathan Davies, Jamie Roberts, George North, Dan Biggar, Rhys Webb, Taulupe Faletau, Sam Warburton (captain), Dan Lydiate, Alun Wyn Jones, Jake Ball, Samson Lee, Richard Hibbard, Paul James. Reserves: Scott Baldwin, Nicky Smith, Rhodri Jones, Luke Charteris, Justin Tipuric, Mike Phillips, James Hook, Liam Williams.